In this episode of the Compendium, we step back into time to revist The Cleveland Balloon Fest of 1986, a high-flying event that hoped to lift a city's spirits but instead spiraled into one of the most infamous blunders of the decade. I tell Adam all the juicy details of this helium-filled fiasco, where ambition met reality with explosive environmental consequences. We'll explore how this well-intentioned charity event turned into a disaster, examining the safety concerns of mass balloon releases and their unintended environmental impacts.

You'll hear how a city’s attempt to set a world record became a case study in event planning disasters. The story highlights significant points in environmental activism history and raises questions about the safety practices surrounding helium balloons, ultimately becoming a controversial chapter in the Guinness World Records.

We give you the Compendium, but if you want more, then check out these great resources:

1. “The Balloon Fest That Went Horribly Wrong” - The Atlantic
2. “Balloonfest 86” - Wikipedia
3. “Understanding the Impact of Balloon Releases” - HRSD
4. “Balloonfest” - Apple tv Documentary by Nathan Truesdell

Tell us what you thought of this episode, and get a shout out in Listner Mail

Connect with Us:

• 🌐 Our Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• 📸 Our Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• 📸 Follow Adam: @AdamCox
• 📸 Follow Kyle: @KyleRisi

Support the podcast:

• 🍎 Review us on Apple Podcasts
• 🟢 Review us on Spotify
• ❤️ Early Access to New Episodes

Credits:

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Producer: Kyle Risi
• Intro and Outro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• All the Latest Things Intro: Clowns by Giulio Fazio

In this episode of the Compendium, we are diving into part two of our female scammer series where I tell Adam all about Anna Delvey, New York's infamous fake heiress.

Originally born Anna Sorokin in Russia, Anna set out to take what she wanted and nothing was going to stand in her way, not even being poor. We recount Annas first initial appearance in the glittering social scene, her ambitions plans to secure funding for the “Anna Delvey Foundation: For Kids that Can’t Read Good”, to her dramatic downfall and the media frenzy that was her trial!

Anna’s story blurs the lines between ambition and deception, is it okay to fake it until you make it?

We give you the Compendium, but if you want more, then check out these great resources:

1. "My Friend Anna" by Rachel DeLoach Williams
2. "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People" by Jessica Pressler
5. "Inventing Anna" Netflix mini series

Tell us what you thought of this episode, and get a shout out in Listner Mail

Connect with Us:

• 🌐 Our Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• 📸 Our Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• 📸 Follow Adam: @AdamCox
• 📸 Follow Kyle: @KyleRisi

Support the podcast:

• 🍎 Review us on Apple Podcasts
• 🟢 Review us on Spotify
• ❤️ Early Access to New Episodes

Credits:

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Producer: Kyle Risi
• Intro and Outro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• All the Latest Things Intro: Clowns by Giulio Fazio

In this episode of the Compendium, we're looking up Cassie Chadwick, the woman who walked so that Anna Delvey could run. Dubbed Carnegie's imaginary heir, Cassie Chadwick's scam is a story of deception, ambition, and the pursuit of wealth at any cost.

We love a female con artist here on The Compendium, and Cassie Chadwick is the original OG Queen of the con. Today, we explore how Cassie convinced a bunch of rich greedy bankers to hand her millions of dollars in hard cold cash that resulted in her becoming an icon of the ages. Cassie's story is a testament to the power of storytelling, the allure of the unattainable, and the lengths to which one might go to secure their place in history.

We give you the Compendium, but if you want more, then check out these great resources:

1. "Cassie Chadwick” - Wikipedia
2. "Cassie Chadwick: The Female Wizard of Finance” - Ohio History Connection
3. "Greed in the Gilded Age" - by William Elliott Hazelgrove
4. "The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance" – by Karen Abbott

Tell us what you thought of this episode, and get a shout out in Listner Mail

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Connect with Us:

• 🌐 Our Website: TheCompendiumPodcast.com
• 📸 Our Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• 📸 Follow Adam: @AdamCox
• 📸 Follow Kyle: @KyleRisi

Support the podcast:

• 🍎 Review us on Apple Podcasts
• 🟢 Review us on Spotify
• ❤️ Get Early Access to Episodes on Patreon

Credits:

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Producer: Kyle Risi
• Intro and Outro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• All the Latest Things Intro: Clowns by Giulio Fazio